Within the presentation competitions for postgraduate students who are on scholarships within the Palestinian-German Science Bridge Scholarship Program at Jülich Research Center, the doctoral student: Abdul Halim Abu Awad, who is on a scholarship from Palestine Korea Biotechnology Center at Palestine Polytechnic University, was selected among a group of doctoral students who received the best video presentation evaluation on the ideas and findings of their joint research between Palestinian universities and the German Jülich Research Center.
It is noteworthy that the student Abdul-Halim Abu Awad is a member of the "Genomics and Molecular Diagnostics" research group at the Palestine Korea Biotechnology Center affiliated to the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research. The student Abdul Halim works within the framework of a joint project between the Palestinian supervisor Dr. Yaqoub Al-Ashhab and the German supervisor Dr. Joachim Krause of the Department of Bioelectronics - Jülich Research Center, in cooperation with Aachen University in Germany. He seeks, through his doctoral project, to develop a simple, fast, and inexpensive nanoscale sensor, relying on the use of magnetic nanoparticles covered with biosensors for the detection of Brucella spp. This will play a role in preventing the spread of Brucella spp. through the livestock animals and thus decrease the impact on human and animal health in Palestine, in general, and in the southern governorates, in particular. During the past year, the student was able to develop a prototype of the nanoscale sensor and test it on laboratory samples and obtain high sensitivity and accuracy in detecting standard samples. The next phase will focus on testing the sensor on field samples in order to verify effective and efficient performance under all conditions.
